30th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Sin is a failure to love, and very often our worst sins are the things we ought to do but don’t. 
          But unworthy as we are, God is always ready to heal us.

​One of the lessons of today’s readings is that God listens to all of us who humbly call upon the mercy and love of God. Our prayers and supplications, though they leave our lips directed to God they remain powerful and with life. Jesus reaffirms in the Gospel; this certainty and he emphasizes being humble before God and others. Although we should be grateful for the ways in which our prayers have been answered and grace has enabled us to grow in the way of holiness – we ought not to be presumptuous, judgmental, and arrogant.
 
Not everyone believes that God is listening or that God wants to forgive them. After doing something we know is quite wrong, we might wonder how God could continue to love us. It is precisely as a sinner that a person most needs the love of God, most needs God’s help.  The poor, the widow, and the orphan often suffer from insecurity or a lack of confidence that God hears them. God assures all of them in this first reading that no less than any other humble person whom they might consider more worthy, God is listening and ready to answer their prayers according to the divine plan. God sees the sinner as a person who needs to be healed and restored.  
Sometimes we believe we can only be in God’s good graces based on our performance-and not His mercy. This is a dangerous place to be.